Matthew 8

Matthew 8:4

Christ often required the Jews, who were healed, to conceal his miracles, that he might manifest that he sought not his own glory; that he might not confound them with too great a blaze of miraculous power; and that he might not provoke his enemies too eagerly to attempt his ruin; but (perhaps as a token of his extending the gospel dispensation to the Gentiles) he never prohibited a Gentile to divulge them

Matthew 8:9

If I, a poor inferior officer, have such power over my soldiers, how much more canst thou, the Almighty Messiah, at thy pleasure, remove this distemper from my servant, where and whensoever thou wilt?

Matthew 8:10-12

Publicly declaring the wonderful strength of the Gentile centurion’s faith he intimated that it forboded the gathering of multitudes of Gentiles from all quarters of the world into the gospel church, and new covenant state of grace and glory, as spiritual children of the ancient patriarchs; while their Jewish natural posterity who had been so long the peculiar people of God, should be cast off into lasting miseries on earth and eternal torments in hell

Matthew 8:17

His sympathy with the distressed was a part of his suffering; and his removal of the diseases was the fruit of his bearing our sins, and the punish. 10 P ment of them

Matthew 8:20

You must expect no worldly advantage by following me, who have not so much as any abode of my own to lodge in

Matthew 8:22

Better the dead should be unburied, or that sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, should bury them, than that my infinitely more important work should be hindered

Matthew 8:32

By this Jesus gave a sensible proof of the existence of evil spirits against the Sadducees, of the reality of the possession, and of the mercy of the dislodgment; and also punished the Jews for bringing up herds of swine

REFLECTIONS UPON CHAP. VIII.—How great is our Redeemer, who could make diseases, storms, and devils, obey him at pleasure! But marvellous was his debasement for our sakes, and tender his sympathy and compassion; and he now takes the greatest delight in the strength of faith, and in the gathering of the Gentiles to himself. But (awful thought!) our calling is balanced with the tremendous and lasting rejection of the long favourite people of God! Let us then not be high minded, but fear! Let us never take up with external privileges in the church, nor aim at any secular advantages in our following of Christ. For if such be our temper, we shall be excluded from the joys of heaven, and cast into all the darkness and horrors of hell! Base are their hearts who form excuses to keep them from his service, and who prefer their swine, their sordid gains and traffic, to him. But it is the truest wisdom, in all our sorrows, our fears, and our dangers, to apply to him, as able and willing to save us. And never shall such meet with a disappointment